A basic type of indicating gauge responsive to circular or angular velocity for attachment to sports equipment is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,780,098. There an elongated housing contains a rotatable shaft with ratchet teeth and a slidable indicator with a pawl engaging the ratchet teeth to hold the indicator against the biasing force of a compression spring. A separate weight is slidable along the shaft and restrained from movement toward the indicator by a tension spring. The housing is attached to a piece of sports equipment, such as a tennis racket . Centrifugal force of the swing causes the weight to slide along the shaft and displace the indicator which, in turn, is retained by the pawl and ratchet teeth, while the weight returns to its former position. A push button release with pin and cam slot cause the shaft to rotate and return the indicator.
A later disclosed golf swing indicator is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,753 in which the slidable indicator and slidable weight are combined into a single member rather than separate members. The release mechanism employed a torsion spring to resist the turning of the shaft by an external knob, so as to release the pawl from the ratchet teeth and allow the combined weight and indicator member to return to its zero position. C-clamps with thumb screws were attached to the housing for enabling attachment to the shank of a golf club.
A still later golf swing indicator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,133, in which a detent structure acting between the shaft and the housing was substituted for the torsion spring of U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,753. This requires using an external knob to first rotate the shaft in one direction to release the indicator and then in the other direction to reset the pawl on the ratchet teeth. While this eliminates a torsion spring, it results in a cumbersome resetting procedure. The C-clamps with thumb screws also represent an attachment method which has the possibility of damaging the golf club shank by over-tightening the thumb screws.
It would be desirable to have an improved release mechanism assembly suitable for a golf swing indicator of the type described.
It would also be desirable to have an improved push button release mechanism for a golf swing indicator of the type described, which automatically releases and resets the indicator after each use with one push.
It would also be desirable to have an improved structure for attaching the indicator housing to the shank of a golf club.
It would also be desirable to have an improved slidable indicator weight and spring pawl attachment.